friend moved from Va to Fla and back,

took his collection, wiped everything down, and put them in cases,
then put the cases (soft cases) in a wooden box he built,
basically just a light frame of 1x1's and 5/8" plywood exterior,
looked just like a moving crate,

movers used a refrigerator dolly and put it in the truck, and out to his new place,

easy peasy,

of course, he had about 50 screws a side and told them it was something besides firearms,

quote:

Originally posted by Jaycat:
I'll be escaping, I mean moving from California in a couple of months....

Go cat, go.

I left CA in 93 with a small collection. I bought a Yakima rooftop carrier. We stayed in motels on the first floor. We'd park near the window, then shove the roof box thru the window. The box secured well enough for us to make short stops for food, etc and wasn't too hard to handle. One note-the box secured to rails that stayed on the car. I failed to trip a few extra inches off each side and thumped my head a bazillion times. Kept the wife laughing though.

I grew up in TN; you’ll be much happier there. Like it has been said, keep them in your vehicle as you go down I40. Since you’ll be passing through friendly states the whole way, the only time I’d be worried would be when parked overnight at a hotel. If using a truck get GOOD padlocks and park in a well lit area as close to the hotel entrance as possible. Look for cameras and try to park within their view.

I'm going to be moving within a few months myself. Virginia to Missouri. 2 300-400lb safes, rifles, handguns, a few shotguns, a shitload of ammo & accessories. Planning on 2 26ft uhauls, with the safes& guns in the truck I'll be driving. Everything locked in cases, unloaded.

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
To add to my post:

When I drive across state lines with firearms I call the State Police in every state I am going to drive through and ask what the laws are...

I wouldn't do that. Don't ask - don't tell.

You might get a hot-shot Rambo type cop who wants to make a name for himself go look for you.

Take I-40 and you'll be OK. Just beware of high winds in Arizona if your pulling a trailer.

Congrads getting out of Commy-for-nia.

Thanks guys. I am planning to use a moving company for my furniture etc. We will ship one car and the wife will fly with the dogs. I guess I will drive the other car with my guns and try to make it in two to three days. I am a soon-to-be--retired LEO so I'm not worried about ccw issues. Would it be better to go the Southern or Northern route? Same distance almost.

Cant wait to get to Tennessee! One of my neighbors has an m113 an a howitzer in his back yard!

Thanks
Jaycat

I-40 will take you directly into Tennessee. Some rough road in Arkansas, but you bypass Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex HEAVY traffic. Plus you avoid El Paso traffic.

Southern route is I-10 to I-20 split to Dallas and I-30 split(see above). West Texas is BORING, after the stress of driving thru El Paso.

IMO, I would take I-40.

When I used to move back and forth to school halfway across the country each year, I always fount it easy to pop out the back seat bottom cushion and stash a few rifles in there. Nobody ever seems to think about that unused space.

On trips unrelated to my move, I have taken both the northern (I-40) and southern (I-10/20/30/40) routes from CA to TN. The southern route might be better in the dead of winter since you get out of the snow country of AZ and NM, otherwise it pretty much sucks, as well as being ~150 miles more. Since you're going in March or April, this won't apply.

If you’re transporting them yourself, unless you’re sleeping in your car/truck, you’ll need to bring them into your hotel room each night. They’ll need to be cased up just for that little movement which is a pain in more ways than one.

Moved from coast to coast with all our firearms in back of the truck.

Took 3 days, slept in the truck and showered at completion of journey. Was pretty ripe when I arrived.

I moved my safe with most of my guns in it. It took 4 or 5 movers to get it into and out of the moving truck. I drove one of our cars with SD guns, our 80 lb dog, and a few other things the movers wouldn't take, like open bottles of booze.

Our move was paid for by an employer, so the additional cost for the weight of the safe was covered.

Between the southern route and the northern route, the southern is simpler, but the northern is nicer IMO. Where in TN are you headed? I'm sure happier to be here than in CA where I came from.

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
To add to my post:

When I drive across state lines with firearms I call the State Police in every state I am going to drive through and ask what the laws are.

I've found that asking the police what the laws are is often a bad idea. You are much better off with: http://www.handgunlaw.us/

True. I called a state police office to ask similar questions about transporting firearms, and the first thing the sergeant asked me was what was my name and address. That conversation didn't last very long. Another time I called and the sergeant gave me a very bad answer with completely incorrect information. So I agree, the last place to get information about the law is LEOs, they don't seem to make an effort to understand the details of the laws in their own state. Of course there are exceptions, but this is just two examples of more I have experienced with LEOs operating with incorrect information about the laws they're sworn to enforce. Like I said before, hire good people and get good officers. Otherwise...

sell your off roster goodies before you split, make enough to buy them all back inT N plus subsidize your move.

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
sell your off roster goodies before you split, make enough to buy them all back inT N plus subsidize your move.

this is good advise, unless of course they are hard to find collectables

I would drive with your firearms, and as many core valuables as you can fit. I would tow a trailer or rent a vehicle if needed.